Music Respawn

Golem, created by Highwire Games and released in November, has been one of the most-anticipated VR games in recent years. The game puts the player in the world as the younger child of a family who live near a huge ruined city filled with treasures and populated by massive golems. With a special artifact, the children are able to inhabit a golem themselves and explore the city.

It's been an incredibly busy year for composer Jason Graves: writing music for the terrifying Dark Pictures: Man of Medan from Supermassive Games. He also scored episodes of DC's Swamp Thing, and in the midst of all that terror, carved out time to return to the charming world of Quill, the young mouse hero of Moss. I caught up with Jason to talk about all three projects.

Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding has been one of the most anticipated games in recent years. I caught up with composer and audio director Ludvig Forssell while he was in Los Angeles for The Game Awards, and he told me that it's exciting to finally be able to share what he's been working on for four years. The game is set in a not-too-distant post-apocalyptic future, filled with terrifying creatures.

On its surface, GYLT, the new game created by Tequila Works, is a terrifying adventure in which teenage Sally is looking for her missing cousin. But Tequila Works dives into deeper psychological waters, and the game also deals with the effects of bullying. Cris Velasco says both of those concepts gave him plenty of inspiration to create a scary soundtrack, while also incorporating a lush, empathetic sound with the orchestra.   

Writing lyrical music for the charming Bee Simulator has been a wonderful change of pace for Mikolai Stroinsky, whose game soundtrack credits also include The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, and Sniper Ghost Warrior 3. Developed by Varsav Studios in Poland, and inspired by a children's story, Bee Simulator takes us into the tiny, busy world of bees and illustrates their daily struggles against the environment and predators.